"Denys Watkins-Pitchford, who described it as ""the greatest animal story ever written"". The book has led to Britain's Tarka Trail and to the establishment of the Tarka Country Tourism Authority in North Devon. In 1978 Sir David Attenborough narrated an audiobook version of the story, released as a double audio cassette. The novel has been adapted into a film: ""Tarka the Otter"". In 1974, Williamson began working on a script for a film treatment of the novel, but it was not regarded as suitable to film. Having previously rejected two separate offers from Walt Disney, Henry finally accepted an offer"
"the time the book was published, otters were generally regarded as vermin, but ""Tarka"" (and more specifically its later film adaptation) is credited with inspiring a transformation in public attitudes to otters. The book remains well-known, and is often used to promote the area of North Devon where it is set. The Tarka Line railway line to Barnstaple, and Tarka Trail long distance footpath and cycle path, are named after the book. Although Williamson's reputation as a writer was affected in the wake of his support for Oswald Mosley and many of his works are now little read, ""Tarka"" has"
"The Owl and the Pussycat ""The Owl and the Pussycat"" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published during 1871 as part of his book ""Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets"". Lear wrote the poem for a three-year-old girl, Janet Symonds, the daughter of Lear's friend poet John Addington Symonds and his wife Catherine Symonds. The term ""runcible"", used for the phrase ""runcible spoon"", was invented for the poem. ""The Owl and the Pussycat"" features four anthropomorphic animals – an owl, a cat, a pig, and a turkey – and tells the story of the love between the title"
"Gavin Maxwell Gavin Maxwell FRSL, FIAL, FZS (Sc.), FRGS (15 July 19147 September 1969) was a Scottish naturalist and author, best known for his nonfiction writing and his work with otters. He wrote the book ""Ring of Bright Water"" (1960) about how he brought an otter back from Iraq and raised it in Scotland. The otter was of a previously unknown sub-species which was subsequently named after Maxwell. ""Ring of Bright Water"" sold more than a million copies and was made into a film starring Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna in 1969. The title ""Ring of Bright Water"" was taken"
"to Alderman Ptolemy Tortoise in Beatrix Potter's ""The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher"" and Br'er Turtle in Uncle Remus's folktales. In Stephen King's ""The Dark Tower"" series, the world was created by the turtle Maturin, one of the guardians of the tower. Snakes, too, have played a role in literature since ancient Rome, where Cadmus kills a gigantic serpent in Ovid's ""Metamorphoses"", and as prophesied is transformed into a snake. The eponymous heroine in William Shakespeare's ""Antony and Cleopatra"" kills herself with an asp viper, while John Milton's ""Paradise Lost"" describes Satan as a mighty serpent, ""Fold above fold a"
"the interior of the house at Hill Top Farm. The storyline was inspired by an invasion of rats Potter experienced after purchasing the place. The tale was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1908 in a large 5 by 8 format (rather than the series usual 4 by 5) and dedicated to Potter's long deceased pet rat, ""Sammy"" or Mr. Samuel Whiskers. In 1926, the book was republished as ""The Tale of Mr. Samuel Whiskers"" in the small format of the series. The book's large 5 by 8-inch format allowed Potter to include black and white line drawings"
"which take place outside Scotland. Ring of Bright Water Ring of Bright Water is a book by Gavin Maxwell about his life in a remote house in coastal Scotland where he kept several wild otters as pets. First published in 1960, it became a best seller and is considered a literary masterpiece, eventually selling over two million copies. A fictionalised film of the same name was made from it and released in 1969. The book describes how Maxwell brought a smooth-coated otter back from Iraq and raised it at ""Camusfeàrna"" (the name he used for his house at Sandaig near"
"this place as I am suffering now."" Raine blamed herself thereafter for all Maxwell's misfortunes, beginning with Mijbil's death and ending with the cancer that took his life in 1969. Maxwell's ashes were scattered on the site of his house ""Camusfeàrna"". Gavin Maxwell Gavin Maxwell FRSL, FIAL, FZS (Sc.), FRGS (15 July 19147 September 1969) was a Scottish naturalist and author, best known for his nonfiction writing and his work with otters. He wrote the book ""Ring of Bright Water"" (1960) about how he brought an otter back from Iraq and raised it in Scotland. The otter was of a"
"enemies, such as Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear, Br'er Terrapin, and Br'er Wolf. The stories represented a significant break from the fairy tales of the Western tradition: instead of a singular event in a singular story, the critters on the plantation existed in an ongoing community saga, time immemorial. Harris described Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, ""Uncle Tom's Cabin"", as a major influence on the characters of Uncle Remus and the Little Boy. When he read Stowe's novel in 1862, he said that it ""made a more vivid impression upon my mind than anything I have ever read since."" Interpreting ""Uncle Tom's"
"The Ant and the Grasshopper The Ant and the Grasshopper, alternatively titled The Grasshopper and the Ant (or Ants), is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 373 in the Perry Index. The fable describes how a hungry grasshopper begs for food from an ant when winter comes and is refused. The situation sums up moral lessons about the virtues of hard work and planning for the future. Even in Classical times, however, the advice was mistrusted and an alternative story represented the ant's industry as mean and self-serving. Jean de la Fontaine's delicately ironical retelling in French later widened the debate"
"The breeder eventually agreed, on condition Misty remained on the Beebe Ranch until she was weaned, and that the animal was eventually returned to him from Henry's Illinois home for breeding. Henry made the purchase, and returned to the Midwest with an outline of her story. Several months later, Misty arrived by rail. In 1947, Henry's book ""Misty of Chincoteague"" was published, about the desire of the Beebe children to have a pony of their own—Misty, daughter of the untamable Phantom. The book became an immediate best seller, and the following year was designated as a Newbery Honor Book by"
"left in charge of the household while his father is away. Old Yeller, a stray dog adopted by the boy, helps in the formidable task of protecting the family on the Texas Ranch. Old Yeller was based on a Deishler family dog named ""Rattler"" and unlike Old Yeller, Rattler was a dark colored Border Collie. Fred Gipson Frederick Benjamin ""Fred"" Gipson (February 7, 1908 – August 14, 1973) was an American author. He is best known for writing the 1956 novel ""Old Yeller"", which became a popular 1957 Walt Disney film. Gipson was born on a farm near Mason in"
"of Scotland. He took the otter, called Mijbil, to the London Zoological Society, where it was decided that this was a previously unknown subspecies, and it was named after him: ""Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli"" (or colloquially, ""Maxwell's otter""). The book's title was taken from a poem by Kathleen Raine, who claimed in her autobiography that Maxwell had been the love of her life. Her relationship with Maxwell deteriorated after 1956 when she indirectly caused the death of Mijbil. A reviewer in the ""Sunday Herald"" described the book as having ""inspired a generation of naturalists"" and referred to it as a ""classic"
"Ring of Bright Water Ring of Bright Water is a book by Gavin Maxwell about his life in a remote house in coastal Scotland where he kept several wild otters as pets. First published in 1960, it became a best seller and is considered a literary masterpiece, eventually selling over two million copies. A fictionalised film of the same name was made from it and released in 1969. The book describes how Maxwell brought a smooth-coated otter back from Iraq and raised it at ""Camusfeàrna"" (the name he used for his house at Sandaig near Glenelg), on the west coast"
"small format of the Peter Rabbit library. In 1931, Potter and E. Harcourt Williams collaborated on a dramatization of ""Ginger and Pickles"". Ginger, a yellow tomcat, and Pickles, a terrier, are partners in operating a village shop that offers a variety of goods including red spotty handkerchiefs, ""sugar, snuff, and goloshes"". Ginger inspires fear in their mouse customers and Pickles their rabbit customers. Ginger's mouth waters as the mice leave the shop with their parcels. The two extend unlimited credit to customers who never pay. The till remains empty. The shopkeepers are forced to eat their own goods. Pickles cannot"
"Williamson's novel Tarka the Otter as one of the otter's favoured haunts with its fast running water and languid pools beneath the weir; ""Below the fish-pass the water rushed in a foamy spate. Above, it slid black and polished"" (Williamson). It is still today a renowned place for salmon fishing. Beam was for long a subsidiary seat of the Rolle family of nearby Stevenstone, who were latterly lords of the manor of Great Torrington. During the Civil War Beam House was used as an outpost for the Royalist army whose last holding in the West Country was at Great Torrington,"
"the Fox"" (""Le Roman de Renart"") which was used by Geoffrey Chaucer's in the ""Canterbury Tales"". At the time, the student humour magazine at Rutgers was called ""Chanticleer"", and one of its early arts editors, Ozzie Nelson (later of ""The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"" fame) was quarterback of the Rutgers team from 1924 to 1926. The Chanticleer mascot was unveiled at a football game against Lafayette College, in which Lafayette was also introducing a new mascot, a leopard. However, the choice of Chanticleer as a mascot was often the subject of ridicule because of its association with ""being chicken."""
"rooster from the medieval fable ""Reynard the Fox"" (""Le Roman de Renart"") which was used by Geoffrey Chaucer in the ""Canterbury Tales"". At the time, the student humour magazine at Rutgers was called ""Chanticleer"", and one of its early arts editors, Ozzie Nelson (later of ""The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"" fame) was quarterback of the Rutgers team from 1924 to 1926. The Chanticleer mascot was unveiled at a football game against Lafayette College, in which Lafayette was also introducing a new mascot, a leopard. However, the choice of Chanticleer as a mascot was often the subject of ridicule because"
"caterpillar for Lewis Carroll's ""Alice in Wonderland"", c. 1865. The caterpillar is seated on a toadstool and is smoking a hookah pipe; the image can be read as showing either the forelegs of the larva, or as suggesting a face with protruding nose and chin. H.G. Wells wrote about intelligent ants destroying human settlements in Brazil and threatening human civilization in his 1905 science-fiction short story, ""The Empire of the Ants."" He made use of giant wasps in his 1904 novel ""The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth"": In 1917 the ghost story author Algernon Blackwood"
"Oak. Further details have entered the folklore from even later sources and reported sightings, such as those in the 1920s. William Harrison Ainsworth's 1843 novel ""Windsor Castle"" featured Herne and popularised his legend. Ainsworth's version of the tale added a number of new details, including having Herne being gored by a stag, only to have the Devil save him on the condition that he wear the stag's antlers. Jacob Grimm was the first to suggest, very influentially, that Herne had once been thought of as the leader of the Wild Hunt, based on his title. In the 20th century, further"
"Henry Patterson (author) , a 1907 book about the eponymous pair of lions who attacked workers building the railroad bridge. The book has been made into several films; mostly famously ""The Ghost and the Darkness"", starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas, which, in spite of mostly poor reviews, won an Academy Award for editing in 1997. Tsavo Tsavo is a region of Kenya located at the crossing of the Uganda Railway over the Tsavo River, close to where it meets the Athi River. ""Tsavo"" means ""slaughter"" in the language of the Kamba people. Until the British put an end to"
"the rich food difficult to digest and feels ill. He returns via the hamper to his country home after extending an invitation to Johnny Town-mouse to visit him. The following spring, Johnny Town-mouse pays Timmy Willie a visit. He complains of the dampness and finds such things as cows and lawnmowers frightening. He returns to the city in the hamper of vegetables after telling Timmy country life is too quiet. The tale ends with the author stating her own preference for country living. In 1916, Potter wrote a tale called ""The Oakmen"" in a story letter to her niece Nancy,"
"Hatter (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's ""Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"" and its sequel ""Through the Looking-Glass"". He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll. The phrase ""mad as a hatter"" pre-dates Carroll's works. The Hatter and the March Hare are referred to as ""both ""mad"""" by the Cheshire Cat, in ""Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"" in the seventh chapter titled ""A Mad Tea-Party"". The Hatter character, alongside all the other fictional beings, first appears in Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel ""Alice's Adventures in Wonderland""."
"Wonderland.<br> The Cheshire Cat: a mysterious grinning cat whom Alice asks for directions.<br> Mad Hatter, March Hare & Dormouse: three characters whom Alice encounters having a tea party.<br> Caterpillar: an exotic insect who gives Alice a piece of hallucinogenic mushroom to eat. 28 February 2011: In late 2017, Wheeldon's Royal Opera House production has been added to the repertoire of The Australian Ballet, with seasons in Melbourne and Sydney Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (ballet) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a ballet in three acts by Christopher Wheeldon with a scenario by Nicholas Wright. It was commissioned by The Royal Ballet,"
"and whose depression led to severe mood swings"". Maxwell wrote several books during Nutkins' time there, including the hugely successful ""Ring of Bright Water"" in 1960. At the age of 15, Nutkins lost part of two fingers to one of the otters, named Edal. In the ""United Kingdom"" episode of the BBC's programme ""Deadly 60"", Nutkins stated that the otter became aggressive in response to the scent on a jumper that he had been given by a woman that Edal had already attacked and bitten. Edal tore at Nutkins' boot, then attacked his right hand as he reached down, severing"
"while admiring them for their own regard for and knowledge of the otter, and despite being personally friendly with his local hunt, the violence and cruelty of some of his descriptions of hunting is clear. Locations featured in the book include Braunton Burrows, the clay pits at Marland, Morte Point, Hoar Oak Water and the Chains. The book begins and ends in the vicinity of Torrington. Williamson wrote with a descriptive style which some, such as Ted Hughes, have characterised as poetic: in his memorial address for Williamson, quoted by Roger Deakin in his book ""Waterlog"", Hughes described him as"
"Herne the Hunter In English folklore, Herne the Hunter is a ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. He is said to naturally have antlers upon his head, ride a horse, torment cattle, and rattle chains. The earliest mention of Herne comes from William Shakespeare's 1597 play ""The Merry Wives of Windsor"", and it is impossible to know how accurately or to what degree Shakespeare may have incorporated a real local legend into his work, though there have been several later attempts to connect Herne to historical figures, pagan deities, or ancient archetypes."
"College. In 1925, the mascot was changed to Chanticleer, a fighting rooster from the medieval fable ""Reynard the Fox"" (""Le Roman de Renart"") which was used by Geoffrey Chaucer's in the ""Canterbury Tales"". At the time, the student humour magazine at Rutgers was called ""Chanticleer"", and one of its early arts editors, Ozzie Nelson (later of ""The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"" fame) was quarterback of the Rutgers team from 1924 to 1926. The Chanticleer mascot was unveiled at a football game against Lafayette College, in which Lafayette was also introducing a new mascot, a leopard. However, the choice of"
"forth by the famous writer of myths and folklore Edward Williams known as Iolo Morganwg, its thrashings caused massive flooding which ultimately drowned all inhabitants of Britain save for two people, Dwyfan and Dwyfach, from whom the later inhabitants of Prydain descended. According to one version of the myth, also put forth by Iolo Morganwg, Hu Gadarn's oxen dragged the afanc out of the lake; once it was out of the water, it was powerless and could be killed. This version locates the creature in Llyn Llion. The correct rendering of this name in Modern Welsh depends on the specific"
"Golf Club. According to Douglas Botting, Maxwell suffered from bipolar disorder throughout his life. Maxwell's literary agent was Peter Janson-Smith, who was also agent for James Bond author Ian Fleming. Maxwell's book ""Ring of Bright Water"" describes how, in 1956, he brought a smooth-coated otter back from Iraq and raised it in ""Camusfearna"" at Sandaig Bay on the west coast of Scotland. He took the otter, called Mijbil, to the London Zoological Society, where it was decided that this was a previously unknown sub-species of smooth-coated otter. It was therefore named ""Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli"" (or, colloquially, ""Maxwell's otter"") after him."
"""Angels & Insects"" in 1995 directed by Philip Haas and starring Mark Rylance as William Adamson and Kristin Scott Thomas as Matty Compton. Morpho Eugenia Morpho Eugenia is a 1992 novella by A. S. Byatt first published in complete form with ""The Conjugal Angel"" as ""Angels & Insects"". Named after a butterfly species, it details the key events of the life of a Victorian naturalist, William Adamson, at first seemingly struggling to move up in class and settle down with a beautiful, mysterious aristocrat, Eugenia. When he begins a study of garden ants with the household tutor, Matty Crompton, he"
"March Hare The March Hare (called Haigha in ""Through the Looking-Glass"") is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's ""Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"". The main character, Alice, hypothesizes, ""Mad as a March hare"" is a common British English phrase, both now and in Carroll's time, and appears in John Heywood's collection of proverbs published in 1546. It is reported in ""The Annotated Alice"" by Martin Gardner that this proverb is based on popular belief about hares' behaviour at the beginning of the long breeding season, which lasts from February to September in Britain."
"The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1908 as ""The Roly-Poly Pudding"". In 1926, it was re-published as ""The Tale of Samuel Whiskers"". The book is dedicated to the author's fancy rat ""Sammy"" and tells of Tom Kitten's escape from two rats who plan to make him into a pudding. The tale was adapted to animation in 1993. The theme of the tale is the childhood sin of disobedience."